12 / Sport and Trail Magazine
I’ve always had an interest in local outlaw, ranching, mining, Native American History and rock art. Sweetwater County also has three major emigrant trails which travelled east to west from the 1840’s through the early 1870’s, the Oregon/Morman Trail to the north, the Overland Trail which follows much of the I-80 corridor, and the Cherokee Trail to the south. All of these subjects and cultures had one thing in common;
horses.
One source contributing to the lineage of the local feral horse population, was draft stock from the emigrant trails. Many were let go when they were played out, or were lost along the way, and if they survived, became feral and multiplied.
Outlaws were known to steal horses from the emigrants, drive them south for a short time, then driven back to the trails to be sold back to unsuspecting emigrants traveling through at a later date. The Tip Gault Gang was one of the outlaw gangs who profited from this practice,